Minecraft · Wiki · Mob
Piglin
Nether mobs that barter for gold and attack players not wearing gold armour.
| Type | Mob |
|---|
Data checked Oct 28, 2026
Piglins are the gold-loving pig-like inhabitants of the Nether. They live in crimson forests, Nether wastes and bastion remnants, carry golden swords and crossbows, and attack any player who is not wearing gold. Treat them right and they become one of the best resources in the game: piglins barter, trading random useful items for gold ingots. This wiki page covers piglin stats, how to stay safe around them, how bartering works and what you can get, piglin brutes, what makes piglins angry, and how to farm bartering in Java and Bedrock Edition.
Piglin stats
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Neutral if you wear gold, hostile otherwise |
| Health | 16 (8 hearts) |
| Weapons | Golden sword or crossbow |
| Where | Nether wastes, crimson forests, bastion remnants |
| Loves | Gold ingots, gold items and gold blocks |
| Afraid of | Soul fire, soul lanterns and soul torches, zombified piglins and zoglins |
| Drops | Its weapon and armor, sometimes items it picked up |
| Experience | 5 XP for adults |
How to stay safe around piglins
Wear at least one piece of gold armor: a golden helmet, chestplate, leggings or boots. Piglins treat players wearing gold as friendly and will not attack unless provoked. Golden boots are a popular choice because they are cheap (4 gold ingots) and leave your other slots free for diamond or netherite. Without gold, piglins attack on sight with swords and crossbows, and groups can be dangerous.
What makes piglins angry even when you wear gold
- Attacking a piglin, which angers nearby piglins too.
- Opening chests, barrels, shulker boxes or other containers near them, especially in bastions.
- Mining gold blocks, gold ore, gilded blackstone or Nether gold ore near them.
- Taking gold items they want to pick up.
Piglins also hunt hoglins and fight wither skeletons, so they may be busy with other mobs.
Piglin bartering
Bartering is the main reason to keep piglins around. Drop or hand a gold ingot to an adult piglin. It picks it up, admires it for about six seconds, then throws back a random item. Baby piglins take gold but give nothing back. Only gold ingots work for bartering; other gold items are simply kept.
What piglins give in bartering
| Item | Why it is useful |
|---|---|
| Ender pearls | Eyes of ender for the stronghold, and teleporting |
| Obsidian and crying obsidian | Nether portals and respawn anchors |
| Potions and splash potions of Fire Resistance | Lava and fire immunity |
| String and leather | Bows, wool, books and item frames |
| Nether quartz | Redstone parts and building |
| Soul sand, gravel, blackstone and Nether bricks | Building and soul speed travel |
| Iron nuggets | Lanterns and chains |
| Spectral arrows and fire charges | Combat and fire starting |
| Iron boots with Soul Speed, and enchanted books of Soul Speed | Fast travel on soul sand and soul soil |
Soul Speed is only available through bartering and bastion chests, and ender pearls from piglins are a safer alternative to hunting endermen. Fire Resistance potions from bartering are a huge help before you can brew your own. See the potions guide.
Piglin brutes
Piglin brutes are the guards of bastion remnants. They have 50 health, carry golden axes and are always hostile, even if you wear gold. They do not barter, do not respawn and hit very hard. Clear them carefully with a strong sword, a shield and armor, or block them off before looting bastion chests.
Piglins in the Overworld
If a piglin goes through a Nether portal into the Overworld, it shakes for about 15 seconds and then turns into a zombified piglin, losing the ability to barter. You cannot run a bartering farm in the Overworld, so build bartering setups in the Nether. Hoglins also turn into zoglins in the Overworld.
Bartering farms
A bartering farm keeps a few adult piglins in a small enclosure in the Nether, with a hopper or a dropper feeding gold ingots in, and hoppers collecting what they throw back into chests. Pair it with a gold farm, usually built from zombified piglins on the Nether roof or above Nether wastes, and you get a constant stream of ender pearls, obsidian, string, quartz and potions. Name your piglins with name tags so they never despawn, and keep them away from soul fire and zombified piglins so they do not panic.
Other piglin behaviors
- Gold collection: piglins pick up any gold item on the ground, such as golden apples, golden carrots, clocks and gold blocks.
- Dancing: after killing a hoglin, piglins sometimes dance in celebration.
- Baby piglins: they collect gold and play but never barter and do not attack.
- Hunting: adults hunt hoglins in crimson forests and keep the meat.
- Fear: soul fire, soul torches and soul lanterns scare piglins away, which helps protect a Nether base. See soul lanterns.
Exploring bastion remnants
Bastions are large blackstone fortresses full of piglins, brutes, magma cubes and gold. They contain chests with netherite pieces, ancient debris, enchanted gold gear, snout banner patterns and the netherite upgrade smithing template, which you need to make netherite gear. Wear gold, avoid opening chests while piglins watch, and clear brutes first. Bastion treasure rooms sit over lava, so bring blocks and Fire Resistance.
Java vs Bedrock differences
Piglins behave almost the same in both editions. Bartering tables are similar, though exact chances vary slightly. In both, gold armor keeps them neutral, and they turn into zombified piglins in the Overworld.
Piglin FAQ
How do you stop piglins attacking you?
Wear at least one piece of gold armor and do not open chests or mine gold near them.
What do piglins trade?
Random items such as ender pearls, obsidian, string, quartz and Fire Resistance potions, in exchange for gold ingots.
Do piglin brutes barter?
No. Brutes are always hostile.
Can you bring piglins to the Overworld?
They turn into zombified piglins after about 15 seconds.
How much health does a piglin have?
16 health, or 8 hearts.
How much gold do you need for bartering?
Bartering is random, so the more gold ingots you trade, the more consistent your results. A few stacks of gold usually give a dozen or more ender pearls, several obsidian, plenty of string and quartz, and at least a couple of Fire Resistance potions. Gold comes from Nether gold ore, which drops gold nuggets you craft into ingots, from gold ore in badlands, from bastion chests, and from zombified piglin farms. Crafting gold blocks does not help, because piglins only barter for ingots.
Piglins and hoglins
Hoglins are the big tusked beasts of crimson forests. Piglins hunt them, and groups of piglins can take down a hoglin quickly. Hoglins are afraid of warped fungus, Nether portals and respawn anchors, which you can use to protect a crimson forest base. If you stay near piglins while they hunt, you can collect cooked porkchops from the hoglins they kill by setting them on fire first.
Gold armor tips
Gold armor has low durability, so carry a spare golden piece or keep it enchanted with Unbreaking and Mending. If your only gold piece breaks while you are in a bastion, every piglin in sight turns hostile at once.
Finally, remember that piglins pick up gold armor and weapons from the ground too, so do not drop your spare golden boots near them unless you want to lose them.
Piglins also cannot open doors, so a simple door keeps them out of your Nether base even without soul fire.
In multiplayer, every player needs their own gold armor piece; one player wearing gold does not protect the rest of the group, and an attack by anyone angers the whole crowd.